Restoring Upland Nature has successfully bolstered local golden eagle figures from just a handful of breeding pairs since beginning Highland bird translocations in 2018. Beaky Junior is one of five chicks to fledge in the south of Scotland this year, hatching safely on land used for recreational gamebird shooting. The accomplishment comes despite a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds report indicating that 64.3% of 182 confirmed raptor persecution incidents over a 10-year period happened on gamebird estates. Project leaders praised local gamekeepers and estate owners for providing the habitat protection and monitoring needed to ensure the bird's survival.
Key points
Local golden eagle populations have surged from just a few breeding pairs to more than 50…: Local golden eagle populations have surged from just a few breeding pairs to more than 50 birds following conservation translocations started in 2018.
Active cooperation with gamekeepers and sporting landowners has provided the habitat prot…: Active cooperation with gamekeepers and sporting landowners has provided the habitat protection and monitoring necessary to support raptor recovery.
Conservationists view the collaborative effort on managed shooting estates as a successfu…: Conservationists view the collaborative effort on managed shooting estates as a successful framework for rebuilding predatory bird numbers.
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- Published
A golden eagle chick has become the first to fledge from a nest on a managed grouse moor in the south of Scotland.
The bird - Beaky Junior - hatched in a nest in a secret location in the Moffat Hills, at a site used for recreational gamebird shooting.
It comes after a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) report revealed that two-thirds of UK persecution incidents involving birds of prey had occurred at similar sites.
And it is being considered a "hugely significant milestone" by those running a project to boost golden eagle numbers in the region.
Dr Cat Barlow, chief executive of Restoring Upland Nature (Run) which is behind the scheme, said they had received "incredible support" from landowners and gamekeepers.
The project to relocate birds from the Highlands to a secret location in the Moffat Hills started in the summer of 2018.
Numbers in the south of Scotland had fallen to a handful of breeding pairs but they are now at a record level of more than 50 - despite some setbacks.
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